Railway-signal.



PATENTED MAY 29, 1906 W. A. D. SHORT. RAILWAY SIGNAL. APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 14.1905.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RAILWAY-SIGNAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented 'May'29, 1906.

Application filed September l l. 1905. Serial No. 278,480,

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I. WILLIAM A. D. SHORT, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of upon the construction and operation of signals of this class and enable a position signal to be given by day and a color-signal at night by means of the same apparatus.

This invention is' in reality both an automatic electric semaphore-indicator and a disk indicator and may be used for the purpose of giving indications automatically to the trains as to whether or not a block is occupied, or it may be used in any other manner that automatic electric signal-indicators are used.

Further objects of the invention willhereinafter appear; and to these ends the inven tion consists of a railway-signal for carrying out the above objects embodying the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts having the general mode of operation substantially as hereinafter fully described and claimed in this specification and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of the indicator. Fig, 2 is a sectional side elevation of the same.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a post, upon which is mounted a case B,'inclosing the operative parts of the mechanism. On the shaft O, which is suitably supported in bearings D and E, are secured the semaphorearm F and the indicating-disk G.

The front H of the apparatus is transparent, and the background I of the semaphoreindicator is of opaque material having preferably a white face J and an aperture K ar-. ranged opposite the flame of the lamp L, shown in the casing O carried upon the arm 1?. I

The disk G is of glass or any other suitable transparent material and is of any desired color to give the color indication at night. Preferably this disk is red. Between the disk G and the lamp L is preferably arranged a lens Q, which may be corrugated, as at R. As shown, the lens is arranged in close proximity to the red disk G to give the color indication at night, and by this arrangement the best night indication is obtained.

Suitable means are provided for operating the semaphore arm and disk, as by means of the electromagnets S, suitably supported within the casing B and having an armature and core T connected to operate the shaft O.

According to this invention it will be seen that the semaphore-arm F and the color-disk G are both arranged upon the same shaft. The position of the arm F gives the indications by day, while the color-signal is used by night. The colors indicated by the signal at ni ht may be varied to suit the requirements and standards of different railroadsas, for instance, night indications of red and green or red and white, as desired. The casing B is preferably waterproof to protect the apparatus. The signal may be used in any connection in which it is found applicable, and one use is on a dwarf signal or indicator. The present form of this type of dwarf indicator as used on railroads has no provision for showing the position of the signal at night which limits the use of the indicator to a very small field. The indicator as made in accordance with this invention may take the place of the more expensive dwarf signals, either mechanical or electrical, as may be desired, and any suitable means may be provided for operating the signal, not necessarily electrical.

Obviously some features of this invention may be used without others, and the invention may be embodied in widely-varying forms.

Therefore, without limiting the invention to the devices shown and described and without enumerating equivalents, I claim and desire to obtain by Letters Patent the follow 1n l; In a railway-signal, the combination of a casing having a transparent face, an opaquebackground, a semaphore-indicator arranged to operate in front of said background, said background having an opening therein, a lamp behind said opening, a colored transparent disk arranged to operate behindsaid opening and in front of the lamp, and means for operating said signals.

2. In a railway-signal, the combination of an inclosing casing having a transparent face and an opaque background, a signal-shaft, a semaphore-indicator operated by said shaft and arranged to move in front of said back ground, a colored transparent disk also operated by said shaft and arranged to move be- 10 ing and in front of the lamp, a lens between the lamp and the disk and means for operating said signals.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscriblng Witnesses.

W. A, D. SHORT.

Witnesses Rosn BERMAN, WILLIAM LYNE. 

